This weekend, I was able to attend the US Classics in “Chicago” (really, Hoffman Estates, IL, a suburb about 45 minutes from my house). This was the fourth Classics I’ve been to; actually, it was at the 2012 Classics where the woman who sat next to me (an old friend of the Memmel family) suggested that I write about gymnastics! Later that week, I emailed TCG and a dream was begun!
This year is the last time Classics will be held in “Chicago”, but I certainly hope I will be able to travel in the future to other national (and international!) competitions.
So here are my random observations! Enjoy!
Junior Session
Cutest? Ragan Smith and her wave—very charming! Impressed with her vault and her floor was captivating.
Emily Gaskins looked good, and it was awesome to have Nunno back on the floor! Like he belonged….
Deanne Soza had a rough bars, but overall had a good day. Really grabbed attention on floor, and obviously it’s great to see her out there after that eye infection!!
But the real star was Laurie Hernandez, who was dominant and had the crowd in the palm of her hands.
Personal favorite moments—watching Kim Zmeskal Burdette watching her gymnasts.
Gabby Perea with an incredibly solid day and major upgrades in the last two years. Local crowd was thrilled with her consistency. Also, her standing full on beam is hard core.
Elena Arena’s toe point
Marta was watching Jazzy Foberg on floor very closely.
Best leotard—Jordan Chiles.
After the junior session, I got to meet Dana Duckworth, head coach of the University of Alabama (one of my students will be going to Bama next fall on a gymnastics scholarship.) She was so sweet and full of energy! Really great talking to her—she even shared some insight about the proposed changes to the NCAA format. Last year, Rhonda Faehn sat behind me during the junior session. I tried to keep my cool, but I was clearly star struck. She, too, was incredibly nice and said hello to me (a polite reaction as I stared at her.) Dana, also, didn’t seem to mind that I was a gym nerd. She even reacted very graciously when I hugged her and invaded her personal space. (She also stayed behind to sign autographs, even as we were all being shooed out of the arena so they could get set for the senior session.) Normally, I can hold my own when meeting famous/celebrity types, but these meetings caught me off guard, so I was reduced to my eleven year old version of fangirl self.
In between sessions, I hunted down @rantsofagymnerd at our new favorite store, World Market. She is brilliant and lovely.
Senior Session
Sat next to many of the same people as I did during the junior session—lovely families with 11 year olds, so of course they were a lot of fun to sit with!
Most beautiful—Aly Raisman. Leo, makeup, everything….stunning in person!!
Drinking Game Opportunity—whenever someone does a wolf spin on beam or floor. (Then we’d be drunk by the second rotation….)
Most Intense Conversation—Marta Karolyi and Aimee Bormann before the competition began. Wish I could hear what Marta was saying!!
Most Awkward Moment—when they forgot to announce Nia Dennis, who has been at her new gym for a minute. Innocent mistake, I’m sure, and Rhonda caught it and they announced her eventually!
Personal favorite moments—when the little girl in front of me thought I was Maggie Nichols’ mom because I was so intense when Maggie was vaulting her Amanar. (Same little girl later asked if I was a judge, because I kept taking notes and answering everyone’s questions.)
Notable—Simone Biles’ best bars ever??
Gabby Douglas’ vault—wow great way to end the competition and put to rest anyone’s concerns about her comeback. It looked like she was really pushing to get all the skills in and just happy to get through the routines and prove herself. Hopefully by Nationals we’ll see even more readiness. But that’s what Marta asked for, isn’t it? Classics=80%; Nationals=90%; Worlds=100%
Lexy Ramler’s eye contact on floor was truly special and engaging.
Maggie Nichols. So sweet and charming all competition long (waved to the girls in the crowd—made their day!!). Set out to do well and rocked it. Had a fire in her eyes.
Tough Stuff—Mykayla Skinner. Just an overall rough competition for her, but she ended well on bars (of all events). We’ll see how she responds at Nationals…..
Most exciting—Aly’s floor routine (despite the fall). Engaging, powerful, mature, so well-paced and performed. I would feel so much pressure as the reigning Olympic champ, and she stepped up big time!
In the end of course, it was Simone Biles’ world, and we’re just living in it. She did not disappoint! I’m excited to see how things shape up at Nationals—I think the fight for spots on the Worlds team will be an interesting process, and Marta has a lot of great gymnasts to choose from.
Article: Kristen Ras
Source for pictures here